Standard Brew: Zombies

[SL33TBL1ND]

Not technically true. There's a mono-black zombie druid which can, but the activation cost is in green. His colour identity is still black, though.

That's not actually correct. Color identity is defined by any mana symbols in the cost and the rules text. (And color identifiers and CDA's.) Quagmire Druid [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=27188]'s color identity is Black and Green. There is no card in all of M:TG which has a color identity of black that can target enchantments.

Edit: Okay, that's not entirely accurate. Vampire Hexmage [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=192232] can target enchantments. The enchantment remains a permanent, but it definitely has its uses.

EDIT: Actually, I was right.

From the comprehensive rules:

202.2. An object is the color or colors of the mana symbols in its mana cost, regardless of the color of its frame.

So it doesn't include abilities.

 

[paronomasiac]

EDIT: Actually, I was right.

From the comprehensive rules:

202.2. An object is the color or colors of the mana symbols in its mana cost, regardless of the color of its frame.

So it doesn't include abilities.

No, you weren't.
From the comprehensive rules:

903.4. The Commander variant uses color identity to determine what cards can be in a deck with a certain commander. The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card's mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities (see rule 604.3) or color indicator (see rule 204).

Color identity =/= color.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

EDIT: Actually, I was right.

From the comprehensive rules:

202.2. An object is the color or colors of the mana symbols in its mana cost, regardless of the color of its frame.

So it doesn't include abilities.

No, you weren't.
From the comprehensive rules:

903.4. The Commander variant uses color identity to determine what cards can be in a deck with a certain commander. The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card's mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities (see rule 604.3) or color indicator (see rule 204).

Color identity =/= color.

A minor mistake in the term I used, I apologise. I meant colour.

 

[Zom-B]

A good match for the Lich Lord is Undead Alchemist. They're brutal together.

Indeed that seems like a brutal combo, but I dismantled the deck right around the time Innistrad came out. I'll be coming into possession soon of the MtG cards my cousin and I have pooled together in order to create a cube for our play group to use, so either I'll remake the deck then or just include a good whack of zombie stuff in the cube to make it a viable draft strategy. Either way, fun times. I think we may have at least one Undead Alchemist. If there's just one, Zombie cube. If more than one, I'll just make a deck. I'll be pulling a few others apart anyway, in service of the cube.

 

[Volafortis]

I've been running my own UB Zombie deck, and I really don't like Skirsdag High Priest. Tragic Slip kills all of the Inkmoths and Delvers you need it to, 8 duals in blue means you don't need to run any Islands, and can play Obliterator. Steel Sabotage makes a good artifact SB card in this deck, and you have Phantasmal Image, which is broken OP with Messenger (when it dies, it comes back from undying with the +1/+1, but can copy a new creature. For instance, I had an Image copying Messenger die, and it came back as an Oliterator with a +1/+1 on it)

 

[Frylock72]

Honestly, Skirsdag High Priest seems too slow to run effectively. The fact that it requires Morbid to use just kills it for me. Blood Seeker is a good card for slowing down other aggro decks, especially humans/token decks. Black Cat is used in the sideboard versus control decks in the list I mentioned above. He switches them in for the Seekers.

I've been running my own UB Zombie deck, and I really don't like Skirsdag High Priest. Tragic Slip kills all of the Inkmoths and Delvers you need it to, 8 duals in blue means you don't need to run any Islands, and can play Obliterator. Steel Sabotage makes a good artifact SB card in this deck, and you have Phantasmal Image, which is broken OP with Messenger (when it dies, it comes back from undying with the +1/+1, but can copy a new creature. For instance, I had an Image copying Messenger die, and it came back as an Oliterator with a +1/+1 on it)

Or, hilariously, coming back and copying Geralf's all the time. BSZ is great with undying as well, because if you have your Geralf and/or Phantasmal Image with counters, you Zenith for 1 or 2, deform/kill the opponents field and get rid of the counters on your guys without killing them, so they can trigger Undying again.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

A good match for the Lich Lord is Undead Alchemist. They're brutal together.

Indeed that seems like a brutal combo, but I dismantled the deck right around the time Innistrad came out. I'll be coming into possession soon of the MtG cards my cousin and I have pooled together in order to create a cube for our play group to use, so either I'll remake the deck then or just include a good whack of zombie stuff in the cube to make it a viable draft strategy. Either way, fun times. I think we may have at least one Undead Alchemist. If there's just one, Zombie cube. If more than one, I'll just make a deck. I'll be pulling a few others apart anyway, in service of the cube.

If you don't have enough, they're generally pretty cheap if you're ok with buying singles. It also makes pretty good Grimgrin fuel.

Honestly, Skirsdag High Priest seems too slow to run effectively. The fact that it requires Morbid to use just kills it for me. Blood Seeker is a good card for slowing down other aggro decks, especially humans/token decks. Black Cat is used in the sideboard versus control decks in the list I mentioned above. He switches them in for the Seekers.

I've been running my own UB Zombie deck, and I really don't like Skirsdag High Priest. Tragic Slip kills all of the Inkmoths and Delvers you need it to, 8 duals in blue means you don't need to run any Islands, and can play Obliterator. Steel Sabotage makes a good artifact SB card in this deck, and you have Phantasmal Image, which is broken OP with Messenger (when it dies, it comes back from undying with the +1/+1, but can copy a new creature. For instance, I had an Image copying Messenger die, and it came back as an Oliterator with a +1/+1 on it)

Or, hilariously, coming back and copying Geralf's all the time. BSZ is great with undying as well, because if you have your Geralf and/or Phantasmal Image with counters, you Zenith for 1 or 2, deform/kill the opponents field and get rid of the counters on your guys without killing them, so they can trigger Undying again.

I was so happy when they made counters cancel each other out. Best rule change in a while, in my opinion.

 

[vxicepickxv]

I can't help but feel there's something interesting to be done with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. I'm not talking about the obvious things either. I was thinking about Spinal parasite, but one would have to figure out how to put a second counter on him, to make it so he can ultimately end up a 0/0.

EDIT:Of course, Etched Monstrosity pops into my head, because he comes into play with more than enough -1/-1 counters on him to ignore Undying.

 

[Volafortis]

Mikaeus + Loyal Cathar // Unhallowed Cathar can form a infinite sacrifice engine.

(The human side doesn't have undying from Mikaeus, it just comes back transformed (with no +1/+1). Then, when it comes back transformed, it's no longer human, so it gets undying. However, when it dies, it goes to the graveyard before coming back from undying, so due to the zone change, it flips back to its front face before returning with the +1/+1, so it's a 3/3 without undying that comes back again transformed without the counter when it dies. Repeat infinite for infinite sacrifices.)

Also, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed is just a total bomb 6 drop.

Here's my list:

Spoiler: UB Zombies

Creatures: 23
4 Gravecrawler
2 Diregraf Ghoul
2 Fume Spitter
1 Phantasmal Image
3 Diregraf Captain
4 Geralf's Messenger
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
2 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
2 Grave Titan

Instants: 9
4 Tragic Slip
4 Geth's Verdict
1 Go for the Throat

Other: 4
2 Mortarpod
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Curse of Death's Hold

Land: 24
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Drowned Catacomb
1 Island
15 Swamp

Sideboard: 15
3 Ghost Quarter
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
2 Go for the Throat
3 Ratchet Bomb
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Phyrexian Metamorph

 

[Frylock72]

A good match for the Lich Lord is Undead Alchemist. They're brutal together.

Indeed that seems like a brutal combo, but I dismantled the deck right around the time Innistrad came out. I'll be coming into possession soon of the MtG cards my cousin and I have pooled together in order to create a cube for our play group to use, so either I'll remake the deck then or just include a good whack of zombie stuff in the cube to make it a viable draft strategy. Either way, fun times. I think we may have at least one Undead Alchemist. If there's just one, Zombie cube. If more than one, I'll just make a deck. I'll be pulling a few others apart anyway, in service of the cube.

If you don't have enough, they're generally pretty cheap if you're ok with buying singles. It also makes pretty good Grimgrin fuel.

Honestly, Skirsdag High Priest seems too slow to run effectively. The fact that it requires Morbid to use just kills it for me. Blood Seeker is a good card for slowing down other aggro decks, especially humans/token decks. Black Cat is used in the sideboard versus control decks in the list I mentioned above. He switches them in for the Seekers.

I've been running my own UB Zombie deck, and I really don't like Skirsdag High Priest. Tragic Slip kills all of the Inkmoths and Delvers you need it to, 8 duals in blue means you don't need to run any Islands, and can play Obliterator. Steel Sabotage makes a good artifact SB card in this deck, and you have Phantasmal Image, which is broken OP with Messenger (when it dies, it comes back from undying with the +1/+1, but can copy a new creature. For instance, I had an Image copying Messenger die, and it came back as an Oliterator with a +1/+1 on it)

Or, hilariously, coming back and copying Geralf's all the time. BSZ is great with undying as well, because if you have your Geralf and/or Phantasmal Image with counters, you Zenith for 1 or 2, deform/kill the opponents field and get rid of the counters on your guys without killing them, so they can trigger Undying again.

I was so happy when they made counters cancel each other out. Best rule change in a while, in my opinion.

You just have to make sure not to kill them while they still have counters on them, since that won't trigger undying as they will have a +1/+1 counter at the time of death.

 

[CounterAttack]

I have a small rules question about a certain card in Dark Ascension. Is it possible to legally use Elbrus, the Binding Blade/Withengar Unbound in a nonblack EDH deck? Normally I run a blue/white deck with Geist of Saint Traft as my Commander (the deck needs a lot of work and testing before I'm fully comfortable with it) but I would definitely throw Elbrus/Withengar in there if possible.

 

[Encaen]

I have a small rules question about a certain card in Dark Ascension. Is it possible to legally use Elbrus, the Binding Blade/Withengar Unbound in a nonblack EDH deck? Normally I run a blue/white deck with Geist of Saint Traft as my Commander (the deck needs a lot of work and testing before I'm fully comfortable with it) but I would definitely throw Elbrus/Withengar in there if possible.

No, I'm afraid that the Color Identity of the card includes the flip-side, which is Black.

903.4c The back face of a double-faced card (see rule 711) is included when determining a card's color identity.

 

[samaugsch]

From what I've seen, black artifact creatures can significantly disadvantage your opponent (seeing that they're immune to both "go for the throat" and "doom blade").